Contact Lenses for Sports and Exercise

Why you and your teenager need to make the switch to contact lenses for workouts and sports activities, and tips to keep your eyes healthy while doing so.

As the weather is cooling in the UAE many of us are getting more active, with a renewed interest in sports, exercise and outdoor activities. Your teenager is probably also getting busier than ever with afterschool team sports. If you wear eyeglasses, you must have experienced the challenges of wearing them during physical activity. Imagine yourself in yoga class: every downward facing dog will be interrupted as you struggle to hold your glasses with one hand and your pose with the other. During your morning jog or Crossfit session, it would be frustrating to repeatedly push your sliding glasses back up. Or imagine your glasses-wearing teenager in a football or basketball game trying to protect their face from the ball. Contact lenses are a safer and more practical option than glasses for exercise and sports.

5 reasons why you and your teenager should switch to contact lenses for your next workout or team practice:

1. Glasses can get smeared and dirty when you work up a sweat. Contacts will not steam up, get smudged or slip down your nose.


2. Glasses can restrict your view and impair your peripheral vision. Fast-paced team sports require unimpaired sight, which contacts provide. Contact lenses give more natural vision for sports and lenses like Acuvue Oasys 1-Day lenses even have an enlarged optic zone for clear vision in reduced light.


3. Glasses can get damaged, bent or scratched and are expensive to replace. Soft lenses, such as 1-Day Acuvue Moist, Acuvue Oasys 1-Day, and Dailies Total1 provide stability by staying in place. They can be worn during rigorous sports and there is minimal chance of the lenses shifting or falling out.


4. Glasses can cause injury to your face when worn during contact sports like football or squash.


5. Contact lenses are safer and more comfortable, especially for teens as they can be worn with a variety of headgear such as helmets and masks.

5 simple eye care tips when wearing contact lenses at the gym or during sports:

1. Avoid getting water in your eyes as it can displace the lens and irritate the eyes. If you get sweat in your eyes, do not rub them, blot them with a towel instead. Sporting a headband will take care of this problem (and look good!).


2. Protect your contact lenses from dirt and dust build up by wearing non-prescription sunglasses or goggles.


3. It is important to keep your contacts hydrated when you’re exercising. 1-Day Acuvue Moist lenses have 58% water content and come with Lacreon technology that provides an added layer of moisture. Acuvue Oasys 1-Day comes with HydraLuxe Technology that uses the eyes’ natural moisture film to mitigate dryness and Dailies Total1 boasts 80% water content and one of the most comfortable wearing experience. Still, it is best to keep lubricating eye drops handy when you are working out.


4. If you are looking to sport a more glamorous workout look, you can even get colored contacts with a prescription. Bella and Solotica colored lenses can be ordered with any power and are designed to retain moisture, allowing your eyes to get more oxygen.


5. Carry an extra pair of contacts, solution and re-wetting drops with your gear and encourage your teen to do the same.

Even if you or your teenager generally wear glasses, you should both seriously consider switching to contacts for your next workout. If you are not already convinced, remember, contacts will enable you to enjoy your activity and even perhaps improve your performance! There will be no fiddling, cleaning or struggle to keep them in place. Plus, your teen may actually appreciate your advice, for once!

If you’re experiencing any discomfort with contact lenses following these suggestions, speak to your optician or consult an eye specialist.

souKare is a leading supplier of contact lenses and sports nutrition in the region. souKare offers FREE delivery within 90 minutes in Dubai and FREE next-day delivery across rest of UAE, on all in-stock products for orders above AED 100. Delivery to KSA can take as little as 2 working days.